Asia-Pacific
US charges Chicago man in Mumbai attacks
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-08 10:28
|
 Pigeons fly in front of Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai on November 26, 2009. [Agencies] |
CHICAGO: A Chicago man previously accused of plotting to attack a Danish newspaper was charged on Monday with scouting targets for a militant group for the 2008 attack on Mumbai that killed 166 people.
US prosecutors accused David Headley, the first American charged in the Mumbai plot, of performing surveillance for the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is blamed for the November 2008 Mumbai rampage on hotels and a Jewish center. Among those killed were six Americans.
He traveled to Mumbai five times between September 2006 and July 2008, taking pictures and video of some places hit in the attacks as well as the port where the attackers landed by boat, according to court documents.
A trial of seven Pakistanis accused of involvement in the Mumbai attacks is pending in a case that has strained India-Pakistan relations.
The case also highlights recent concern expressed by some US officials about Americans who may want to carry out attacks while enjoying the freedom of movement US citizenship provides.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said in a statement the case represents the "global cooperation" evident in efforts to combat terrorism. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago said in a statement that the investigation could yield further suspects.
"The team of prosecutors and agents will continue to seek charges against the other persons responsible for these attacks," Fitzgerald said.
Subsequent Plot
Headley, 49, was arrested in October with a Pakistani-born Chicago man on charges they plotted to attack the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and its employees over the 2005 publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. That incident outraged Muslims and sparked violent protests.
In Headley's luggage were surveillance videos taken in Denmark and an address book containing contact numbers.
